Logging, 2020
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Released: 2022-01-18
$9.6 billion
2020
-8.9% 
(annual change)
Total revenue from all logging activities declined by 9.0% (-$1.0 billion) from 2019 to $10.2 billion in 2020. Total revenue was split almost equally between the contract logging ($5.2 billion) and logging (except contract) ($5.0 billion) industries.
Revenue from logging activities, which excludes revenues from sources other than logging such as secondary business activities, was down 8.9% (-$938.3 million) from 2019, reaching $9.6 billion in 2020. Contributing to this decline in revenues was a 3.9% decrease in the average annual prices of logs, pulpwood and other forestry products as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index.
Total expenses from all logging activities also declined in 2020, down 8.8% (-$937.1 million) from 2019 to $9.7 billion. For every dollar earned in total revenue, loggers spent 95 cents in total expenses in 2020, the same as in 2019. Contract loggers' expenses still represented 97 cents of every dollar earned, and the cost for loggers (except contract) remained at 93 cents.
In 2020, total salaries and wages for the logging industry declined 7.9% (-$142.4 million) from 2019 to $1.7 billion. The contract loggers paid out 69% of the total salaries and wages or $1.2 billion, compared to $509.9 million for loggers (except contract). For every dollar of expenses, contract loggers spent more on salaries and wages, at 23 cents, than loggers (except contract) at 11 cents. This difference can be partly explained by the fact that while the loggers are by definition logging on an own-account basis, they also hire subcontractors, which results in some of the salary and wage expenses being classified under subcontract fees.
The most notable declines in revenues from logging activities were recorded in British Columbia (-$930.7 million; -17.8%), Quebec (-$72.1 million; -3.4%), and Ontario (-$35.1 million; -3.2%). These declines were partially offset by the increases in Alberta (+$119.5 million; +11.0%) and Saskatchewan (+$4.6 million; +3.4%).
Note to readers
The logging industry is composed of two sub-industries: logging (except contract) and contract logging. The largest proportion of revenues for contract loggers comes from logging services provided on a fee or contract basis, while the largest share of revenues for the logging (except contract) industry are from logging operations on an own-account basis.
Data for 2019 have been revised.
Data are collected for the 12-month fiscal period that ends on or between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. This means that some businesses reported for a fiscal year in which the majority of their operations were before the pandemic. As a result, the effects of the pandemic are not fully reflected in this reference year, but will extend into the 2021 reference year estimates.
The collection periods for reference years 2019 and 2020 include the events and business disruptions around COVID-19 and, in some industries, response rates have been lower. As a result, there may be larger-than-normal revisions to the data. For more information on data quality and revisions, please refer to Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries.
Changes in methodology were made to the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries beginning with the reference year 2013. Users should therefore use caution when comparing current data with historical data from before 2013. For more information on the methodology changes, consult the document The Integrated Business Statistics Program, in the Behind the data feature of the Statistics Canada website.
Contact information
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